Deadlocked board rejects Chesterfield Township police budget

The Chesterfield Police Department’s budget proposal for 2015 was rejected by township board members by a 3-3 vote on July 7.

As a result of the vote, the budget will have to be presented again at a future meeting, likely by the end of August, Clerk Cindy Berry said, noting that she expects a budget to be passed by the end of the year.

Board members who voted against the proposed budget included Berry and trustees David Joseph and Hank Anderson. Treasurer Linda Hartman and trustees Christine Bell and Brian Scott DeMuynck voted to approve the budget. Supervisor Michael Lovelock was absent.

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The three detractors cited a projected deficit of about $1 million during 2015, as well as uncertainties involving the outcome of a proposed 1.25 mill tax increase that will appear before voters Aug. 5. Those in favor argued it is not set in stone after being approved and can be amended or discussed at any time.

“The police department has been deficit spending for the last five years,” Berry said at the meeting. “The last time we were brought a balanced budget was in 2009 ... I was quite shocked to see another budget where we are, in fact, deficit spending.”

During the township’s annual audit presentation in June, it was revealed that the police department was expected to have an ending fund balance of about $1.4 million at the end of this year. The police budget proposed this month projected a deficit of about $1 million next year; thus, decreasing the fund balance to about $400,000 by the end of 2015.

Plante Moran projected the department to be in the red by 2016 if it continues to operate how it does today. The millage proposal in August will ask voters to increase the current police department tax rate of 5 mills by 1.25 mills for a five-year period. If approved, the tax hike would generate an extra $1.6 million during the first year.

The accounting firm noted at the audit presentation that expenditures in the police fund have dropped by about $700,000 since 2009, primarily due to a decrease in personnel costs.

Prior to the July 7 vote, Berry felt it would be irresponsible for the board to approve the budget because of its projected deficit. The proposed budget showed total revenues coming in at about $7.3 million and expenditures at about $8.3 million.

“I would have expected at the very least for the budget to have been presented to us with reductions,” she said. “Not that there aren’t reductions in line items - there are - however, there’s substantial increases in other areas that make an overall increase in spending over last year. I’d like to see a budget at the very least that spends less than last year’s.”

Before the budget was rejected, Joseph made a motion to table the item until voters decide the outcome of the millage proposal next month. The first motion also failed by a 3-3 vote. He questioned why the police budget is proposed in July each year, as the budget runs from January to January.

“Wouldn’t it be prudent of this board to instead of adopting a decades-long practice of approving the budget in July for January, given the stakes that we have in August, simply table this budget proposal so we know what budget monies we’re working with in 2015?” he asked.

Deputy Treasurer Ellen Clark said in order to levy the 5 mills that are collected in perpetuity for the police fund, the township must conduct a public hearing in July and adopt the police budget at the same time.

“As far as the budget is concerned, my understanding is there is enough money in the fund balance to fund this deficit for 2015,” she added.

After the meeting, Chesterfield Police Chief Bruce Smith said the budget has been presented in July since he started at the department eight years ago.

“It will be up to the board to decide if they want to vote again to approve the budget before the election or wait until after the election,” Smith said. “A budget can always be amended, so approving the current one as presented does not create a future problem if financial conditions change ... As it is written, the budget is a plan for police operations in 2015.”

A mixed bag

A public hearing that took place July 7 regarding the current 5 mills collected to support the police department, a special assessment levy that was approved by voters in 1996, showed a mixture of opinions from township residents. Some citizens expressed their approval of the proposed tax hike to support the Chesterfield Police Department, while others discussed alternatives that they believe would cut costs for taxpayers.

A few citizens discussed the idea of contracting with the Macomb County Sheriff’s Office, rather than raising taxes to maintain the Chesterfield department.

“I’m not convinced that the money that’s collected is ever going to be enough where you can focus on the future; no one talks about the future,” Rick Supanich said. “You have to leave the taxes in the people’s pockets so they can spend. That prosperity then will equate to a bigger economic pie.”

Resident Cas Chirco added, “I’ve lived here since 1997 ... I can’t even make improvements to my house because my taxes are more than my house payment. Let’s figure out what we have to do because this is ridiculous.”

But others remained wary of the possibility of moving to the sheriff’s department.

“It’s 5 mills; it does not go away whether we have the sheriffs or we have the police,” said Michele Ficht, a former township board member. “Our police officers work very hard. They’re very dedicated. We pay a lot less money now than we did in 2008 for the same services. They’re not complaining; they’re out there every day looking out for us.”

Jan Uglis, a former township clerk and trustee, thinks citizens will not get the services they want if the township is policed by the sheriff’s office.

“If you don’t have a police department you have no one,” she said. “The sheriff’s department’s wonderful, but you’re not going to get what they’re going to give you all the time.”

Joseph said he thinks the Chesterfield Police Department helps define the community.

“I have never been a fan of the sheriff’s department coming in to take over Chesterfield,” he said. “I think this is one of the trademark things in our township. Our Chesterfield Police is what makes us Chesterfield.”

The next Chesterfield Township Board of Trustees meeting is scheduled for 7 p.m. July 21 at the municipal building on Sugarbush Road.